Crumbly cinnamon streusel-topped banana muffins are the ultimate handheld version of banana bread, fluffy, sweet, and flavorful! This is my all-time favorite muffin recipe, because it does so much justice to classic American banana nut muffins. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I’m a real sucker for banana-flavored anything.
Using simple ingredients, I developed this recipe to create large, bakery-style muffins that are moist on the inside like cake but crisped and buttery at the top. Feel free to throw in any crispy or crunchy ingredients that you love such as nuts or chocolate!
These muffins are an absolute delight in the morning along with my coffee and are so convenient for grabbing while I’m headed out the door. When I bake these, I double the recipe and keep a dozen in the freezer to defrost for when I…quickly… devour the first dozen.
Store-bought banana nut muffin mix is going to wonder why you turned on it so quickly.
Before you get started
- Gather your equipment and ingredients so that you have them ready to go when it’s time to start cooking!
- Take the egg out of the fridge at least 30 minutes prior to bake time so that it’s at room temperature when you need it. This ensures that your batter has the right consistency so the muffins bake with the perfect texture.
- Melt the unsalted butter prior to mixing any ingredients so that it can begin cooling.
- Peel and mash the 3 ripened bananas. I prefer to use bananas that are just as much black as yellow when making these muffins. The riper the bananas, the sweeter they are!
Suggested Equipment & Appliances
- Muffin tin(s)
- Non-stick cooking spray or paper cupcake liners
- 2 Large mixing bowls
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- A whisk
- Rubber or plastic spatula
- Wire cooling rack
Recipe Yield and Cook Time
- Recipe Yield: 1 dozen muffins (12 muffins)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Cool Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 52 minutes
Ingredients
For the muffin batter:
- 3 medium-large overripe bananas, mashed
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated (white) sugar
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, beaten, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the streusel topping:
- ⅔ cup granulated (white) sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, cold
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the 12 muffin cups with paper cupcake liners if you have them on hand. Grease the lined or unlined muffin cups of your baking pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
- Prepare the streusel crumble topping. Start by combining the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
- Cut the cold unsalted butter into small pieces and work them into the dry ingredients gradually. This is best done with your hands, combining the ingredients together until thick crumbles form. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator for later use.
- Begin preparing the muffin batter by combining the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. This includes the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk these ingredients together until they are thoroughly combined without clumps.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients. These include the beaten egg, melted and cooled butter, the mashed bananas, honey, and vanilla extract. Whisk the wet ingredients together until a smooth cream is formed.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and fold everything together using a spatula only until fully combined. Stop mixing the batter once it’s evenly combined, or else your muffins will turn out dense and tough!
- At this point you have the option to fold any desired toppings into the batter. Check out my suggestions under Tips and Tricks!
- Spoon the batter into the greased muffin cups, dividing it evenly and filling the cups about ⅔ of the way up.
- Sprinkle some of the streusel topping over each batter-filled cup, dividing it evenly among the 12 muffins.
- Bake the muffins on the middle rack for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick shoved into a muffin comes out clean.
- Let the muffin tin cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before digging into a warm one!
Tips and Tricks
- Some of my favorite toppings to include in these banana streusel muffins are chopped walnuts or pecans, semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips, and shredded coconut! You can also try throwing in some white chocolate or peanut butter chips, creamy peanut butter, nutella, crisped rice cereal, blueberries, and finely chopped strawberries!
- For optimal baking and perfect muffin texture, keep the oven door closed during the cooking time and center the muffin tin on the middle rack.
- If you don’t have paper cupcake liners around, you can use parchment paper as a replacement. Just cut 6” x 6” squares of parchment and press them down into each muffin cup, creasing around the edges so that they hold upright.
- If using salted butter instead of unsalted, use ¼ teaspoon of salt in the batter instead of the ½ teaspoon listed in the recipe.
- These banana streusel muffins will keep well if stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. For the best results, place a sheet of paper towel in the airtight container to absorb any excess moisture from the muffins.
- They also freeze well for up to 2 months! Just wrap the muffins tightly and freeze them in an airtight bag or container. Before serving, let the muffins thaw overnight at room temperature. You can also speed up the defrosting process in the microwave if you’re short on time.
- If you have any empty muffin cups in your baking pan, fill them ⅔ full with lukewarm water to ensure even baking of your muffins! Be careful not to spill some of the water onto the batter-filled muffin cups.
Substitutions
Any of the following ingredients can be swapped for some alternatives at the same quantity:
- Granulated Sugar can be replaced with raw cane sugar, coconut palm sugar, or brown sugar.
- All-purpose Flour can be replaced with whole wheat flour, from as little as ¼ cup to 1 cup or half of the total amount of flour in the recipe.
Honey can be replaced with maple syrup, agave nectar, or simple syrup.
